Electric contact-shoe.



G. G. RICH.

ELECTRIC} CONTACT SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 6, 190a.

Patented Nov. 29, 1910.

ilnuum srans CHARLES CLAYTON men, or 'iv ounr v'ninvon.

. T HARRY J. DOUGLAS, or MOUN a'rnnr ELECTRIC CONTACT-SHOE.

To all whom it may coneems edcertain new and useful Im the fact tha connection between the feed w Be it known that I, CHARLES CLAYTON Ricii, citizen of the United States, residing at Mount Vernon, in the county of estcliester and State of New Yor I, have invent- Electrical Contact-Shoes, of lowing is a specification.

In the running and maintenance of electric railway systems employing high power which the folelectric locomotives for drawing ordinary railroad passenger coaches and other cars at a high rate of speed, considerable ditficulty has heretofore been experienced in connection with overhead supply wires, owing to t particularly when running at high speed, the supporting framework for the contact shoe, (which is in the nature of a pantograph device) will be caused to rebound when the shoe strikes the point of ire and the supporting trusses or frames, thereby causing destructive arcing of the contact mem 5 difficulties, my

shoe and a tension less than the tension of the main permitted to act. in case springs of the pantograph device or other supporting frameworh, the parts being so arranged that: in their normal position, the operative surface of both the auxiliary mem ber and'main member of the shoe will be flush. with each other, the spring or springs of the auxiliary member yielding, the spring or springs of the auxiliary member being the main member should leave the feed wire or wires so as to -causetlie auxiliary member to protrude upwar'dly from the main member and constantly maintain the contact of the. shoe with the supply wires. And the invention (1150 consists in certain constructions, arrangements and combinations of the parts that I shall hereinafter fully describe and .claim.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 6, 1909.

provements in l Serial No. 506,164.

1 FFI CE;

i-inw'vonx, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF TfvERnoN, NEW YORK.

Patented Nov. 2?), 1910.

For a full understanding of the invention,

reference is to be ha scription and which:

Figure 1 is a perspec d to the following deaccompanying drawing, in

tive view illustrating the application of my improved contact shoe; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the shoe detached; F 1g. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the shoe; similar views of form of the device illust different relative positions; verse sectional view on the Figs. 4 and 5 are a portion of a modified rating the parts in Fig. 6 is a transline 6-6 of Fig.

3, looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 71s a. longitudinal sectional view of another modification of t he device, and Fig.

8 is a fragmentary perspective view of one form of auxiliary member.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followii'ig descri in all the views of the dr reference characters.

ption and indicated awings'by the same Referring to the drawing, the numeral 1 designates the main member of my improved contact shoe, the same being secured in any desired way on top of an electric locomotive such as that illustrated in part in Fig. 1,

the supporting means for the shoe being for instance as illustrated in that view in' the nature of a pantograph device 2, as is customary in overhead systems of this charactor; The formed with formed with openings 4 struction, such openings by end webs 6 from at opening 7 extending alon main. member 1 is preferably downwardly curved ends 3 to lighten the con 4 being separated main longitudinal g the middle of the main member 1 and throughout nearly the entire length thereof, as Fig. 2. Preferably, the formed with depending best illustrated in main member 1 is side flanges 8.

9 designates the auxiliary member of the shoe.

is of inverted channel rounded ends, as indicated This member in t he present instance formation with at 10, the said auxiliary member Qfitting in the opening 7 throughout the extent provided in that form'of trated in Figs. projecting end tongues tend underneath the end 2, 3, 6 and 8, with thereof and being the invention illusoutwardly 11 designed to exweb 6 of the main member 1 and with laterally extending and;

outwardly projecting s id e tongues 12 adapted to engage the lower surface of the main I portion of the member 1,

to limit the upward train be going cause the supporting framework the end tongues 11 and outwardly and downwardlyover the downindependent movement of the auxiliary member. 13 designates the means for pressing the auxiliary,member 9 upwardly with a tendency to cause 1t to protrude from the main member 1, said means in the present instance being in the form of two separate springs that are riveted or otherwise secured at middle points to the main portion of the member 1 on opposite sides of the opening 7 thereof, the free ends of the springs extending in opposite directions and engaging the lateral tongues 12 of the auxiliary member so as to cause said mem her to move upwardly into the position rent. Whenever, owing to the shoes striking a connecting point ot the feed wire or wires, which is particularly imminent when traveling at high speed, or from any other 2 lowers slightly, it is clear that the springs 13 will then be permitted to exert their full tension to cause the auxiliary member 9 to remain properly in contact with the feed or supply wires, even if the main member lis slightly lowered. Hence constant contact will be maintained, which is a desideratum in the art to which this invention appertains.

In that form of the invention illustrated in Figs. at and 5, 1*? designates the main member of the shoe wlth its depending side flanges 8 aiid downwardly curved ends 3, and 9 designates the auxiliary contact memher, all of these parts bein substantially like the parts illustrated in igs. 8, and hereinbefore described, with the exception that the auxiliary member 9 omits has its ends curved wardly curved. ends 3 of the main member 1, as indicatedat 14. These ends 14: merely serve the purpose of limiting the inward or downward movement k' Z the auxiliary mem ber relative to the main, member.

In all of the former the invention thus far described, it "is evident that should the the feed wire to assume a position relative to the contact shoe to one side of-the middie of the latter, and thereby cause the auxiliary member to be tilted downwardly at one end "only, the other end protruding. If

it be desired to overcome this rocking or here designated 9 2, 3, 6 and around a curve it would cause tilting movement of the auxiliary member, any construction may be employed such as that illustrated in Fig; 7. cation of the device, the auxiliary member, is connected near its ends-to the outer ends of levers 15, said levers extending toward each otherand being fulcrumed intermediate of their ends, as on depending ears 16' forming parts of the side flanges 8' of the main member 1". The inner ends of these levers 15 overlap and are secured together by a slot and pin connection, as indicated at 1?, whereby when one end of the auxiliary member is depressed, the opposite end will be corre-. spondingly depressed.

It is to be understood that my invention is not limited to the exact construction, arrangement and proportions of the parts here in, shown and described, but that various changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention, as definedby the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A. contact shoe, comprising a main member formed with a longitudinal opening, an auxiliary member mounted in said open ing and movable upwardly therethrough and formed with outwardly extending tongues adapted to engage the main member to limit the upward movement of the auxiliary mem her, and tensioning means arranged to movethe auxiliary member upwardly in; the slot' above the upper surface of the main member. 2. A contact shoe, comprising a main member formed with a longitudinal opening, an auxiliary member mounted in said open-' ing and formed with end tongues and side' tongues, and springs secured to "the main member at opposite sides of the slotand bearing upon the side tongues for the pur: pose spec1fied.

3. A contact shoe, comprising a 'main member, an auxiliary member formed with tongues adapted to engage the main member.

and limit the upward movement of the auxiliary member relative to the main member, and springs exerting an the auxiliary member, and carried by the main member. v

4. A contact shoe, comprising a main member formed with a longitudinal opening between its side edges, an auxiliary member of inverted channel formation mounted in said 0 ening and formed with outwardly extending tongues, and sprin s secured to the main member and having t eir free ends;

bearing upwardly upon said tongues forthc purpose specified.

5. A contact shoe of the character described, e'mbodyin a main member formed with a longitudina opening therein, an auxiliary member mounted in said opening, springs connected to the main memberand In that modifiupward tension on 7 bearing upon the auxiliary member to effect araising of the contact surface of the aux- 1l1ary member above the contact surface of the 'main member, and means connecting the auxiliary member and main member and ar- -ranged to efiect the downward movement of oneiend of the the main member by auxiliary member relative to andupon the downward movement of the other end of said auxiliary member.

6. A contact shoe, comprising a main o y I member formed with a longitudinal opening between its side edges,'anf auxiliary member mounted in said'openingand formed with side tongues, and leaf spr ngs secured intermediate of their. ends to the lower surface of the main member on opposite sides of the opening, the free ends of the springs extending in opposite directions underneath and into engagement with said tongues.

r. A contact shoe, comprising .a main member formed with a longitudinal openin between its side edges ends of, said opening,

0 a: and with webs at the an auxiliary member mounted in said opening and formed with outw ardly extending end tongues adapted to engage said webs to limit the upward move inent of the auxiliary member relative to the main membemand tensioning means arranged to move the auxiliary member above the upper surface of the main member.

8. A contact shoe, embodying a main memher, an auxiliary member, tension means arranged to raise the contact surface of the auxiliary member above the contact surfacemeans connectin the auxiliary arranged to effect the downward 'movement of one end of the auxiliary member relative to the main member upon the downward movement of, the other end of said auxiliary member.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. I

CHARLES CLAYTON RICH. [L. 8.]

I \Vitnesses: I

- W. N. Woonsox,

' FREDERICK S. Srrr'r. 

